Motor tool



Jan. 15, 1929. 1,698,952

E. M. HOOVER MOTOR TOOL Filed June 25, 1925 ATTO NEY.

Patented Jan. 15, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD M. HOOVER, OI ANDERSON, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,T EFFICIENCY TOOL CORPORATION, OF KOKOMO, INDIANA, A CORPORATION OFINDIANA.

notion. moor..

Application med .Tune 25, 1925. Serial No. 39,627.

10 at least one of the driven tools being disengageable from itsassociated driving shaft. iA further object of my invention is to profduce a casing or sheath for each flexible driving shaft, which sheathwill not twist or whip under the reaction to which it is subjected,-*when the shaft within it is running.

I accomplish the above objects by providing a gear train drivenfrom amotor and adapted to drive two flexible shafts to the ends of which areaixed any desired rotatable tools, and between at least one of suchtools and its associated driving shaft I provide a clutch which may beengaged to form a driving connection between the shaft and itsassociated tool. Such engagement ma be caused by pressure of the tool onthe wor or by the operation of a clutch controlled b the operator. Toprevent the flexible sha sheath from twisting, I provide the customarycasing with an outer-covering formed of woven wires, which wires followgenerally helical paths from one end of the casing to the other, some ofsuch wire paths beinglrightband helices and the others left-hand elices.The accompanying drawing illustrates my invention: Fig. 1 is a viewshowing a complete motor tool; Fig. 2 is a fragmental Section throughthe motor casing showin the gear train by which the two flexible s aftsare driven from the motor; Fig. 3 is a sectional view through one of thetool-handles showing details of the clutch by which the tool isconnected to its flexible shaft; Fig'. 4

is a sectional view through the handle of the other tool, in this case ascrew driver, showing details of structure; Fig. 5 is a central viewshowing a modification of the device illustrated in Fig. 4; and Fig. 6is a lan view on an enlarged scale showin detalls of the woven-wirecovering surroun g the flexible shaft casing.

My device comprises a motor casing within which is mounted any suitablepower motor (not shown), the supp-lily wires 11 for the electric motorpassing t ough the side of the casing 10. Wires, 12, also passingthrough the wall of the casing 10, form connections for a switch 13 bywhich the motor 1s controlled. Preferably, the casing 10 is provldedwith a handle 14 which may be used 1n transporting the tool or inhanging it from any suitable support.

Mounted on the end of the casing 10 is a housing 15 in which is the geartrain by which the fiexible shafts are driven from the motor. The motorshaft 16 extendsl into the housing 15 and is provided with a gear 17mating with a gear 18 which is attached to a shaft 19. The shaft 19 isprovided with a gear 20 which drives, preferably through two idler gears21 and 22, a lgear 23 which is rigid with a shaft 24- mounted in thehousing 15. If it is desired to have the two shafts 19 and 24 o erate atthe same speed, the ear 22 may e eliminated and the ear 23 ie arrangedto mesh directly with t e-gear 21. Other arrangements of a gearing arepossible to drive the shafts 19 and 24 as may be desired.

The two shafts 19 and 24 are connected respectively to a iiexible shaftencased in sheaths v25 and 26. The ends of each sheath-25 and 26 areprovided with fittings 27, a fittin 27 on one end of each shaft beinattache t0. the housing 15. Attached to t e fittings 27 on the oppositeends of the sheaths 25 and 26 are handles 28 and' 29 by which the driventools are supported. 1

The handle 29 is provided with a central bore in which is a rotatableshaft 30 provided at one end with a central transverse tongue 31 and atthe other end with a longitudinally extending tongue 32. The flexibleshaft in the sheath 26 terminates ina member 33 which is provided with alongitudinal slot 34 for the reception of the ton e 32. This method ofconnecting the sha 30 with the iiexible shaft in the sheath 26v forms a;positive driving connection between these two shafts while permittinglongitudinal move` ment of the shaft 30 in the handle 29. Also 100 en dofthe shaft 35 is aihxed any desired tool. 106

I have shown the shaft 35 as equipped with a chuck 38.which holds adrill 39.

A coil spri'n 41 acting between the shafts 30 and 35 ten toseparate suchshafts and hold them ot'of operative engagement. The 11o I for thescrew-driver.

intermediate part of the shaft 3() is reduced in' diameter and issurrounded by a collar 42 provided with an annular groove 43. Slidablymounted in the handle 29 is a clutchoperating member 44. Thisclutch-operating member is located in a slot in the wall of the handle29, being retained in such slot by means of tongues 45 which engagegrooves 46 cut in the /side walls of the slot. A screw 47 inserted inthe handle 29 after the clutchoperating member 44 is in place limits therearward moveme-ntof such member. On the inner face of the member 44 isa pin 48 which enters the groove 43. The outer face of the member 44 maybe provided with a projection 50 to aid in operating the clutch. It willbe evident that movement of the clutch-operating member 44 to the left(Fig. 3) will compress the spring 41 and cause the groove 37 toenter/the tongue t-hus forming a driving connection between the shafts30 and 35.

The handle 28 rotatably supports a shaft 55, the enlarged head 56 ofwhich is connected by a tongue and groove connection to a rotatingmember 57 provided with a plate 58. The end of the flexible shaft in thesheath 25 terminates in a slotted plate 59 similar to the plate 33vabove described. The plate 58 is receivedI within the slot in the plate59. The outer end of the shaft 55 terminates in a screw driver point 60.

The outer portion of the shaft 55, including the screw driver point 60,is surrounded by a tube 61 which enters the handle 28 and is providedwithin such handle with an'. enlarged head 62 between which and ashoulder in the bore of the handle 28 there operates a coiledcompression spring 63 which normally forces the tube 61 outward so thatthe screw driver point 60 is within the tube. When it is desired todrive a screw, the end of the tube 61 is placed against the end of thescrew andforms a support for it and a guide When the operator, holdingthe tool by the handle 28, applies pressure to the screw the spring 63is compressed until the screw driver point 60 enters the slot in thescrew, die screw being driven by rotation of the shaft 55.

In Fig. 5 is illustrated a modification in which the screw driver isprovided with a 90 drive from its associated shaft and is also providedwith a clutch which is normally out of engagement when the screw driveris not opera-ted but which is automatically engaged by pressure upon thescrew driver point.

f In the device shown in Fig. 5, the handle 28 supports the shaft 55with its surrounding tube 61 as in the device illustrated in Fig. 4. Thecoil spring 63 operates against the head 62 of the tube 61 to normallyhold such tube outward far enough to encase the screw driver point 60.The enlarged head 56 of the shaft" 55 is provided with a transverse slot65'within which may be received a tongue 67 integral with a shaft 68. Acoil spring 69, acting between the shaft 68 and the shaft 55,

normally holds the tongue 67 out of engagement with the groove 65, sothat the shaft 55 is not rotated.. A gear casing 7 0 attached in anysuitable manner to the handle 28 encloses miter gears 71 and 72, thegear 71 being affixed to the shaft 68. The gear 72 is affixed to one endof the shaft 73, the opposite end of which is provided with alongitudinal slot 74 for the reception of a tongue 75 on the end of theflexible shaft within the sheath 25.

The operation of the device illustrated in Fig. 5 is somewhat similar tothat of the screw driver shown in Fig. 4. The operator, holding thedevice by the handle 28, applies the end of the tube 61 to the screwhead and forces the tube 61 Within the handle 28 until the screw driverpoint 60 comes in contact with the screw head. Continuation of thepressure againstthe screw head causes coinpression of the spring 69 withthe result that the tongue 67 enters the groove 65 and forms a drivingconnection between the shafts 68 and 65. When the screw is driven, theoperator removes the screw driver point from the slot in the head of thescrew, and the spring 68 forces apart the shafts 55 and 68, thisbreaking thedriving connection between them.

Flexible shafts are commonly provided with casings similar to that shownin Fig.

6 in which a single continuous flat metal strip is helically wound toform a tube. The reaction to which this tube is subjected when the shaftwithin it rotates causes the tube to twist and whip about. To eliminatethis, I surround the casing 80 with a jacket 81 formed of woven wires.These wires are arranged in two groups, the wires of one group extendinghelically about the casing 80 in a right-hand helix and the other wiresextending in a left-hand helix. AAt each end of the casing 80, thejacket 81 is securely attached toP the tting 27. This jacket preventsthe objectionable twisting. and whipping to which an unenolosedflexible-shaft casing is subjected.

I claim as my invention 1. A motor tool, comprising a portab-l motor,two flexible shafts connected to said motor and arranged to be driventherefrom, a flexible casing surrounding each of said shafts andterminating in a handle adapted to be grasped and directed by the handof an operator, said casing being sufficiently rigid to prevent whippingof its associated shaft when left free, and a pair of tools adapted forindependent use, said tools being respectively mounted in said handlesand arranged to be driven from the associated shafts.

2. A power-driven tool, comprising a hollow handle, a rotatable membermounted iii said handle and adapted to receive a tool, a power-drivenshaft mounted in said handle co-aXia-l with said rotatable member, saidrotatable member and said shaft having opposed faces provided Withclutching means, and a hand-operated clutch-operating memberlongitudinally slidable in said handle and arranged to control theengagement of the clutching faces of said shaft and said rotatablemember.

3. The combination set forth in claim 2 with the addition of a springtending to hold the clutching faces of said rotatable member and saidshaft out of engagement.

4. A power-driven tool, comprising a holloW handle, a rotatable membermounted in said handle and adapted to receive a tool, a power-drivenshaft rotatably and slidably mounted in said handle co-aXial with saidrotatable member, said rotatable member and said shaft having opposedfaces provided with clutching means, and a hand-operatedclutch-operating member longitudinally slidable in said handle andarranged to move said shaft longitudinally of said handle to control theengagement of the clutching faces of said shaft and said rotatablemember.

5. The combination set forth in claim 4 with the additionof a springtending to hold theclutching faces of said rotatable member and saidshaft out of engagement.

6. A motor tool as set forth in claim 1, with the addition that each ofsaid casings comprises an inner iexible sleeve and a Woven Wire coveringsurrounding said sleeve, said coverin@r consisting of two groups ofwires, each ofD such groupsV being composed of a multiplicity of Wires`With the Wires of one group interwoven with thosev of the other groups,one group of Wires extending along said sleeve in right-hand helices andthe Wires of the other groupextending along said sleeve in left-handhelices.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Indianapolis,Indiana, this 23rd day of June, A. D. one thousand nine hundred andtwenty-live.

EDWARD M. HOOVER.

